the weather inside me

the new moon cometh, and a new blog, too!

New Moon this coming Monday. Should be a beaut. This one is special because it's also the official kick-off of spring, a.k.a. The Vernal Equinox. Finally, no matter how cold and hard the ground is where you are in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is d.o.n.e.

I'm taking this auspicious date to launch the new blog, which I plan to make a fun as possible. Don't worry, I won't lose my gift for launching deep thoughts at you, but I'm ready to play more creatively with my work. (You can blame this on the retrograde Mars phases, particularly that one full moon in Leo.)

So. We will launch next Monday, March 15th (the Ides!). I say "we" because I'll have a couple of friends along to help.  Ramu, here, is one. He's a friend you might want to know, but then you might not. He'll be along, mostly because I can't get Arthur without Ramu, so we'll deal with Ramu. Ramu even has his very own wiki page, though mostly as a warning to others.

And Arthur? Well, I'll explain Arthur later... And me? I'm off to find a spangly mu-mu and some bangles this weekend...

For the rest of your questions, I have no answers. (She says as if she's been forthcoming, already.) I suppose you'll just have to play along. It's a work in progress, so we'll see how we pro-gress.

go feather your nest

 It's nearly spring after all.

That nest could be your brain still coming off the Mars retrograde. Today may feel tense, but the cure has something to do with nests.

Venus and Pluto and Saturn form squares with one another today. On a chart this looks like the top end of a drafter's T-Square, which is what it's called --the T-square aspect. It also looks like a bow with it's string drawn back for maximum tension. So the experience could be tense, or intense.

We recommend looking at where the bow is aiming. Here, it's outlet is 5+ Cancer. The Sabian Symbol is "game birds feathering their nest". A lovely image for spring.

Venus-Pluto contacts can bring out the gamesman/powerplayer in us all, if we get hung up on winners and losers. If we can release the need to control the ball, we could find a deep surrender to something mysteriously transforming.

You don't have to be all "woo-woo" about this. Right now I'm facing a recalcitrant child with a secret agenda she won't reveal until we have a sit down with tub of cream top vanilla yogurt and the prospect of no computer access. This is the carrot (Venus) and stick (Saturn) approach so common to parents (Pluto --the prime mover) everywhere.

Of course, most of us aren't children and we need something less crude than yummy food and the threat of lost entertainment to get us motivated. But what is the motivation today? That'd be a good thing to know before you go into any negotiation.

Consider, then the game birds feathering their nests. No one's hunting them because this is home-building and security forming season. Time instead to soften the mood and deepen the feelings of purpose and place for the impending changes that will come soon enough.

Find a soft place, therefore. Add a little grace and charm to your surroundings, even if it's the simply the thoughts you surround yourself with. Relieve the me-you tension by taking the topic beyond the interpersonal. Send your need to change into your immediate surroundings and create a safe, comfortable spot for the people in your life today.

Top photo: Mamma Roots
Bottom illustration: The Paper Apartment

Mars Direct: A Vision

A lovely essay on the potential hidden within the Mars Direct days ahead of us:

I envision a world in which we grant one another the freedom to love ourselves, and to love ourselves freely in the presence of others: an intention field of mutual self-forgiveness, for the sake of awareness, freedom and love; for happiness and existence. For relief from the unnecessary desperation that so many endure, and a gateway to something beyond.

This means holding the space open for others to forgive themselves (the opposite of judgment), and finding the space where it is possible to forgive ourselves: for all that we’ve denied that we wanted, all that we’ve refused that was true, all that we’ve done in the name of whatever, when we wanted something sincerely, that we knew we could have; wanted simple pleasure and denied ourselves; wanted to grant simple pleasure to others and denied them; when we wanted contact and denied that truth.

For the rest of the essay, click here to Planet Waves.

mars in leo direct: rock on w'id yer bad self

A-a-a-a-a-a-a-yy-a-a-a!!! Mars goes direct today, bringing out a lil' of the Tarzan in all of us. From my time zone, it's done. Men, especially, should be feeling the shift. This is a big transit for 2010. Something is coming unstuck.

Four things you need to know right now about this change:

1. We're now retreading ground that began back in mid-October. Think back to October 17th(ish) and what projects and ideas were in play back then. You will begin reworking them now. Some will get tossed; some will get revamped; some will finally move forward.
2. People everywhere will want to bust a move, major. Some people will do this well, and others, well, will come off more George of the Jungle than Tarzan, if you know what I mean.
3. Some people will be gettin' their groove on (artistic, social, sexual) and some people will just be flat out angry. Mars can work either way. How you decide depends on how you're handling desire and ego identification. Desire and ego identification is something we usually attribute to things outside our bodies, as if someone or something else is forcing/beguiling/seducing us into feeling something we "should"  or "ought" to feel or be. This is the engine of advertising. And because our culture is immersed in advertising we no longer question this approach. In fact, we have begun to assume that this is how all desire functions. The ubiquity of advertising produces an insidious assumption that all relationships are based on manipulation. So we withdraw from our true feelings, whether these are emotion or physical feelings. Many people will want to act on desire, but will still use the old "sales" paradigm that will leave you feeling like the exchange was some kind of quid pro quo deal, or worse, a "what have you done for me lately?" demand. You will know if someone did their Mars retrograde well if they "own" their desire: ie, speak from their own feelings and acknowledge their own desires without making you the "reason" for their desires.
4. Watch out for "unvectored thrust". I got this phrase from an retired Air Force colonel --it's Mars all over. Technically, it describes a pilot who's lost directional control of his plane. But this spring it describes the person who can't get a grip on where this desire thing is coming from or heading to. They want something, they just don't know how to get it. Here's a big bonus tip fer you: MOST people will be functioning on "unvectored thrust". (#2 tells why)
5. Our actions this month will set in motion much, much bigger developments to come this summer. For the rest of March Leo Mars is STILL activating the Aries Point and continuing to work a productive sextile to Saturn in Libra. This is generating much needed adjustments to our relationships, work, and friendships on every level --personal, professional, national. By August we'll really see the fruit of these adjustments, so be VERY honest about what you're after.

My final thought is this: rock the boat, but don't tip the boat over. If it's good, then rock it --go for it. Get a good vector and don't tip the boat over. Rock on w'id yer bad self, baby.

who's the cat? you the cat! (mars direct today!)

Could I possibly be feeling it already? Short post this early morning as I was out having lovely time last night and actually feeling a bit of the old flash. For now, just think "Who's the cat? YOU the cat!" a la Alex the Lion, and thus prep yourself for your moves.

2010 = the reinvention of you

Reinventing the creative self, a la retrograde Leo Mars. Lots of smart Jupiter-Uranus in Aries ideas here, too. Jupiter-Uranus will be the DIY, build your own self initiative this summer. Totally Up With You.

From a Brazilian advertising agency, Propague, a charming ad celebrating their 45th anniversary.

venus, on point[e] and a royal game for you

The Aries Point, that is --where the personal meets the political. This morning in the US Venus has crossed over and is now a 0+ degrees Aries --the Aries Point.

In fact the astro news this week is all about Mars turning direct just two degrees from an exactly 120 degree angle from its cohort and lover, Venus. These two are absolutely primed for spring break.

But back to Venus at 0+ degrees Aries.

Just as I'm typing this, NPR is airing a story of the role of women in today's Iraqi parliamentary elections. Apparently 25% of seats in the Iraqi parliament must be held by women; they're saying that's a legal quota that might, just might, change that country's marriage and divorce laws. Okay. That's a Aries Point story with a Venusian theme. So, too, are the courageous hearts of the Iraqi people defiantly showing up to vote despite some terrible bombing meant to scare them away from polling stations.

I'm calling this a reflection of the Aries Venus-Leo Mars trine right now. Throw in the Moon in Sagittarius --un-aspected to Mars and Venus, but in a fire sign, nonetheless-- and you got serious sympatico fire, folks. Very harmonious and ready to blaze.

A few minutes earlier, a different Venus showed up on NPR, the Venus of resources (money, in this instance): Icelanders voted to reject the terms of bank bailout repayment. 

Several Icelandic banks collapsed in the fall of 2008, most notably an Internet bank called Icesave, which offered high interest rates and was especially popular in Britain and the Netherlands. When Icesave collapsed, the British and the Dutch governments compensated their angry savers to prevent riots on their own streets, but then billed Iceland for that compensation. The government in Reykjavik agreed to pay, prompting a citizen's rebellion that culminated in Saturday's referendum — the first in Iceland's modern history.

Again, the fire: No way, Jose!

Election days are solidly Aries Point activity. The Aries Point reminds us these moments have far-reaching consequences. Or will have as we approach the big Jupiter-Uranus conjunction at 0+ Aries this June 8th.

Here, it feels a lot like early spring fever. Even with the ever-present wind, we can feel a little warmth coming through and that's making a lot of people happier. 

There's no such thing as second place when you're dealing with fire energy, so don't expect folks to go cowering into a corner in the coming days. It doesn't have to be combative energy, though. It could be unspecified enthusiasm that misses the mark. Or, you could have a raging case of retrograde Mars that can't wait for the brake to release. Or you just be horny. It's nearly spring, after all.

Mark this feeling the next few days, and note what's setting off your own internal fires. This will be Clue 1 and Clue 2 about what Mars in Leo is teaching you this year.

And if that advice isn't specific enough for you, try this little mind game: If you were King/Queen of [insert name]-land, what would you decree?

RULES OF THE GAME:

1. You may not make decrees for anyone else. The rules are only for YOU. Again, this is all about you, not anyone or anything else. You lose the game if your decree is about controlling anything or anyone outside of yourself. Game Over. Bonk!

2. The decrees are just for you. If you do this in the right spirit, you'll find you're giving yourself permission to just be you.

3. They must be positive statements: "I decree that second helpings of mashed potatoes are good for me."

4. They must be personal statements: "Dang, I've got gorgeous legs!"

5: They must be specific: "I decree that I need one hour of playtime every day."

So. How 'bout it? What do you decree in the Land of Me?

Returning soon with the Mars goes direct (takes the brake off) report...

Photo: AFP.

Illustration: Kevin Woodson.

hang fire: the mars leo update

Orginally "hang fire" was a term to describe an unexpected delay between the triggering of a firearm and the actual ignition or "lighting" of the firearm.

This morning it's what I'm calling that sense of suspended action in the days between when Mars trudges toward its stationing point at 0 degrees Leo before turning direct and the moment it's finally released from its two month retrograde imprisonment. Mars is hanging fire at 0 degrees Leo. If you've been reading the astro blogs lately, you know this means Leo Mars is now trining that magical mystery point of personal meets political --the Aries Point. Both are FIRE signs. That's like hanging two fires, baby.

March 10th --just past noon, folks-- that's the day this fire will ignite. Mark your datebook and watch what happens inside your --outside you-- the last half of this March and into early April. If somehow (I do wonder why...) you feel you've lost your mojo and you don't know where to go looking for it, try not to fret. Come next week, you're likely to pick up the scent of motivation again.

Maybe it's a sign we're so near the end of this thing because I woke up with this song on my mind. Yes, another flashback to that earlier Saturn in Libra, circa 1982. I found it somehow encouraging. Never mind it's the Stones who always manage to remind me that rock stars are perpetual 15 year old boys. Why not? The band is headed by the posterboy of Leo rock stars, Mick Jagger. And with a Pluto in Leo, he's a Boomer double Leo, double-dippin' posterboy of the eternal childhood potential in that sign.

If the childishness annoys you and the clunky 1982 video offends your sophisticated tastes, avert your eyes. The song's fun.

Hang fire, y'all!

down and under with the scorpio moon

A couple of thoughts for this Scorpio Moon day.

"I think he knew that, through his own pain, his own suffering, his own anxiety, his own love, and his own journey, he could relate to people in an intimate way. . . . He was one of the most humble men I ever met and one of the men most tormented with anxiety. . . . At the same time he was one of the most confident men I ever met." - Brian Carroll, psychotherapist and former Franciscan priest

Anyone who's taken up the mantle of service to mankind inevitably hit an wall in their work. Perhaps it's mere enthusiasm that drove them to their cause, or perhaps they've had deeper, nobler inspirations for their work. However they're motivated, they sooner or later run into a massive obstruction that challenges everything they believed about their intentions and their purpose.

On one side of this wall is every belief they held about their skills, their competence, their experience and their flaws. On the other side of the wall is everything they don't know about everything. The wall itself is doubt, frustration, anger, incompetence, failure, fear, loss... I could go on. The important point is, the wall feels more like an insurmountable mountain, a Mount Everest of lost causes. 

Despite the Venus-Uranus bingle, many of us feel we're facing an insurmountable Mt. Everest of lost causes today. This is the feeling we can assume when a major planet like Uranus is lingering at the end of the sign Pisces.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, the Omega Point of the mandela. In the last degrees of Pisces we can get the feeling of things falling apart, the center can no longer hold. Something must die, must shift, must be cast out before we can start over again. With Uranus there, we can feel a tremendous urge to change. But Uranus energy is not consistent; what it wants one moment may not be what it wants the next. If we're not aware of it's push-pull tendencies and can't get perspective on the dynamic and the larger purpose of Uranus energy, it can feel like a visit to the grocery store with toddler hopped up on a bowl full of Fruit Loops. I want that! No, that! No, no, no! No say that!!!

Exhausting.

But if you can't take yourself home and solve the problem with a teddy bear and a nap, what do you do?

Reading a couple of weeks ago about Father Mychal Judge, I found the quotation above. I kept it; I don't know why. Perhaps for today. Who knows? Father Mychal was the first victim retrieved from the south tower collapse on 9/11, and according to the many stories I've read about him, he was an extraordinary ordinary man by any measurement. But I'll let you judge for yourself.

The quotation, however you think of its subject, suits a Scorpio Moon day like today. Father Mychal taught those who knew him there's a confidence that comes from knowing you have nothing left to lose. We usually learn this lesson from action heroes who, in a desperate leap of self-preservation and/or sacrifice, leap off a tall building or bust through a window and save the damsel in distress. Most of us gave up emulating action heroes long ago, though. And our heroism has long been replaced by doubt and fear. But Father Mychal's legacy suggests an alternative. Lingering here at the end of everything, we can surely find some strength in our doubts and fears.

Scorpio Moon doesn't scale mountains. Scorpio isn't an 'up and over' impulse, it's a 'down and under' strength. Scorpio Moon dives into the hidden stream that lies beneath the mountain of our frustration, and swims the depths of our unconscious fears to emerge on the other side of what we don't know. Scorpio gives us the will to explore what lies beneath the surface of everything.

Scorpio Moon will meet the Pisces Mercury, Sun, Venus and Uranus today and tomorrow --and share thoughts with Pluto in Capricorn, too. It's a co-mingling of emotional waters, running beneath the mountain that is this great shift in eras (Pluto in Capricorn). Some things are absolutely falling apart. What do you need to know about that? What don't you know yet? Where have you come to end of your confidence, creativity, assurance, skill, faith? What is your wall today?

Down and under...

Painting: G. Okoemova

Sculpture: "Hombre en llamas" Jason DeCaires Taylor, underwater sculpture

the pisces-saturn flashback wierding

I'm channeling Earth, Wind, and Fire. You know --the band. Last night was trying to relax with this meditation tape of running water and kept getting strains of a brass section I KNOW isn't on the tape, but holy satin spandex! It was the brass section from Earth, Wind, and Fire!

I know. So distracting. Not meditative at all.

And dreamed all night that I could hear things through solid objects. My pillow was no help because I kept hearing someone else's conversation through it.

I had this same problem last fall while listening to a Glenn Gould album. I kept hearing this cantor on some of the tracks. How he got there I have no idea. He was a nice cantor, but the experience was a whole lot like "The Kugelmass Episode" from Woody Allen's Side Effects. Ditto last night's brass section.

[Update: a friend just informed me about Gould's humming habit when he played. Okay. So that's what I was hearing. Thank you. Now can you explain the brass section?]

So of course today I had to poke around on you tube for a lil' EWF. Sigh. Ooh. Yeah. And what did I find? This fabulously cheeeeeesey scene from the embarrassing Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, the movie. I may have been young, but I these were my Beatles obsession years and even I knew the movie sucked. Except for this great scene. Cheese tho' it may be. And then a surprising synchronicity. The date of the movie: 1978.

Saturn was last in Virgo 2007-2009, before that 1977-80 and then in Libra '80-'82/3. This is a 30 year cycle, and we're back there again --Virgo and Libra.

Saturn is retrograde in Libra, moving back to another month or so in Virgo, and with all this free-associating Pisces stuff in the water, suddenly I'm channeling my early adolescence again. Heavy Metal, anyone? (Dear lord, I had no idea how many SCTV folk were a part of that venture.) Or how about a little Xanadu? (And the death of ELO.) Talk about two ends of a fantasy spectrum. Wow. 

This was the era in which my mother lost all censorship rights when she got someone (a neighbor kid?) to (illegally) hook up to the new cable box behind someone's house. Free cable! Which meant free HBO. Whoa.

Enter the Chicago WGN station and reruns of Monty Python...and Caddyshack...and The Shining...and Ice Castles...somebody stop me now...I'm rarely the one to wax nostalgically...

What were you up to these years?